Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 418,069 shares during the period. AON accounts for about 0.9% of Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.85% of AON worth $650,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 0.9% in the second quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its position in AON by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC boosted its stake in AON by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in AON by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its stake in AON by 3.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of AON stock opened at $353.71 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $347.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $356.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Aon plc has a 1-year low of $323.73 and a 1-year high of $412.97.

AON (NYSE:AON) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.14. AON had a return on equity of 48.88% and a net margin of 15.96%.The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. AON’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 23.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AON shares. Citigroup raised AON from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $402.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AON from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AON from $436.00 to $433.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised AON from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $385.00 to $430.00 in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of AON from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $416.56.

AON Profile

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.